Biophysical profile of Lutao Reef in 2007

Coral reefs are one of the most productive marine ecosystems that helps replenish fish stocks in the sea. Samar, Philippines relies so much on marine products as the main source of food and livelihood, thus care of its reef is very important. There are several reefs in the bays and seas of Samar with Lutao Reef as the largest for the City of Catbalogan. The barrier reef is estimated to be 1.6 km long and 0.25 km width covering an area of about 37.64 hectares. Despite being a protected habitat since 1996, the reef shows a certain level of degradation attributed to some destructive fishing, gleaning of important marine resource, and practices such as improper waste disposals causing damage to the corals in the reef. Non-biodegradable waste clings on to the coral reef were observed. Only about ¾ is covered with about 13 genres of live corals mostly of Acropora genre. About 10% of the reef corals are dead, some exhibits coral bleaching. A total of 43 species of fish were identified with nine dominant species namely; Pomacentrus trilineatus, Pomacentrus richardsoni, Plotosus lineatus, Cheilodipterus novemstriatus, Abudefduf vaigiensis, Pterocaesio tile, Neoglyphidodon melas, Abudefduf sexfasciatus, and Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus with numbers varying monthly. There are signs of slow phase of recovery which can be enhanced with strong intervention from the authorities and the people